


Brilliant and Brave and Special: Scorpion Drabble & Ficlet Collection

by alessandralee



Category: Scorpion (TV 2014)
Genre: Drabble Collection, F/F, F/M, Ficlet Collection
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-02
Updated: 2015-10-30
Packaged: 2018-03-10 05:42:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 29
Words: 8,912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3278876
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alessandralee/pseuds/alessandralee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A collection of all the drabbles and ficlets I have written for Scorpion.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. First Kiss (Walter/Paige)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While this collection is currently just Walter/Paige, it will eventually be multi-ship and gen. Therefore each chapter title notes which pairings the piece is for.

It’s an eventuality Walter has prepared for, thoroughly. In face, one might even say he’s become completely preoccupied with it over the last few months, letting it take up valuable time he should be using to plan the privatization of their business.

He’s put a lot of thought into what’s appropriate for a first kiss. How private it should be (not in front of Ralph and certainly not in the front the team, otherwise Toby will have too many questions they may not be ready to answer), how long until it’s acceptable to use tongue (one to three minutes), where he should put his hands (he’s narrowed it down to her face or her waist), and what he should say afterwards (he knows that “thank you” isn’t suitable, but it’s all he’s managed to come with).

But when it actually does happen, he doesn’t have time to think.

He stumbles out of the house just before the support beams give way and it collapses. He passes the thumb drive he’d gone in for off to Happy and suddenly Paige’s arms are wrapped around him and her lips are pressed against hers.

The team is most definitely watching, unless he’s lucky enough for the massive fire burning behind him to be a more pressing issue. And unless he’s mistaken, her tongue is in his mouth way before the one minute mark. He doesn’t mind. His hands grip her shoulders, because there’s a tiny, illogical part of him that says, if he doesn’t hold on tight, she might slip away.

She eventually pulls away, although he certainly doesn’t want her to.

"Thank you," he whispers.

It’s definitely not the right thing to say it, and in the split second before she smiles at him, he’s already beating himself up for letting those words come out of his mouth.

It’s not what he planned for, not the appropriate chain of events he’s built in his mind.

But it’s wonderful.


	2. Small Invasions of Personal Space (Walter/Paige)

Walter doesn’t consider himself an expert on what is and isn’t socially acceptable, not by any means.

But he’s at least 90% certain that reaching out to tuck that stray hair back behind Paige’s ear would be inappropriate.

So he doesn’t.

But he does think about it, which means he really needs to focus on the task at hand. No matter how intently Paige stares at the paper in front of them, she’s not going to be able to piece together the route they should take to get through the building undetected. That’s his job.

He forces his concentration back onto the task at hand, analyzing the plans for the air ducts, service corridors, hallways, and security cameras until he’s built a path that will hopefully keep them out of sight.

She doesn’t put that strand of hair back herself.

She should have, though. It’s definitely obstructing her view. It should be annoying (it’s definitely annoying him).

In fact, if he didn’t know better, he’d swear his own hand is itching to push it back for her.

It’s not, of course, that’s just the closest word his brain can come up with to describe the impulse. The English language does have its limits.

He’s back to thinking about how he should definitely not reach out and rearrange that strand of golden-brown hair when, quickly and without really realizing it, he does.

He shouldn’t have. That probably qualifies as an invasion of her personal space. They’ve been working together for months, they’ve discussed those a few times.

He knows better.

But instead of calling him on it (which she’s never been afraid of doing), or even just adopting an uncomfortable posture, she smiles.

Maybe he wasn’t out of line after all.


	3. Omission (Walter/Paige)

The question hung in the air between them, sharp and dangerous.

"Because I’m concerned about Ralph’s well-being," he repeats the same response he’s always given her. "We all are."

Paige sighs in frustration, then turns on her heel and walks away. Now that Walter’s focus is no longer on her, the rest of the team attempts to look busy.

Except, of course for Toby.

He opens his mouth to speak, but before he can get a single syllable out Happy elbows him in the ribs and Walter says “Not now.”

For once, he keeps his mouth shut, opting to rub the spot where Happy’s arm made contact.

They all continue their silence as Walter walks to the window and stares out of it with an unusually distracted look on his face.

He lied to Paige. Well, it wasn’t a complete lie, he Ralph’s safety and comfort are certainly important to him. It just wasn’t the full truth, a lie by omission.

At this point, he can’t even lie to himself about why he doesn’t want Paige to leave. It’s not just that he’s worried about Ralph, or that Paige makes it easier for the team to interact with the general population. It’s that he wants her by his side, in a way that isn’t strictly platonic.

But he can’t admit that, not to Paige or even to Toby. Hell, from the way Sylvester’s been intently staring at his computer screen since Paige stormed out, even he’s probably figured it out.

But figuring it out and acting on it are two different things. And he’s not there yet. He’s far too comfortable being the man without any emotions to act on the ones he can no longer ignore.

And that’s a shame, because Paige has less than a week to decide whether she and Ralph will be joining Drew in Portland, and it seems like she’s actually considering it.


	4. Gift (Walter/Paige)

"I’m not sure if they’re a secret admirer or a stalker… but at least they have good taste in gifts."

"See, I told you jewelry was the right idea," Toby mutters under his breath.

Happy glares at him in hopes it’ll be enough to shut him up. Even if Paige was too distracted by the necklace in her hands, she’d probably notice if Happy took a swing at Toby.

"Is it weird to wear it, though?" Paige asks. "I mean, what if the person who sent it really is a stalker, wouldn’t that be encouraging him?" She drops the necklace back into the little red box it arrived in.

"It’s not weird," Toby insists enthusiastically. This time Happy roughly pokes a finger into his side. She would have thought a professional psychologist would be able to pick up on how obvious he’s being. "Whoever sent this had access to our workspace, and I definitely would have noticed if a stalker-type had shown up."

Paige seems to consider his advice (and not notice how weird he’s behaving, which is nothing short of a miracle), but then she looks to Happy for further confirmation.

"It is a nice necklace," is all she can really offer.

And it is, for women who enjoy butterfly jewelry. Happy can appreciate the craftsmanship, but even if she was the type, a necklace like that would be liable to get caught in any one of the many machines she works on.

She made sure to say that loudly when she caught Toby eying a similar necklace.

Apparently her agreement is all it takes for Paige to pull the necklace back out of the box and around her neck. Then she one of the ridiculously large piles of paperwork in front of her and gets to work.

Just like she didn’t notice Toby’s comments, she’s completely oblivious to the observant eye Walter’s kept on their entire conversation. He doesn’t look away until the necklace is settled against her chest, and when he does he’s smiling.


	5. Symmetrical Features & Dopamine (Walter/Paige)

"I don't think it's love."

"Of course you don’t," Toby laughs. He expected nothing less. "Let me guess you think it’s symmetrical features and dopamine."

"You can’t argue with the science—" Walter begins.

"I’m not arguing with the science," Toby cuts him off. "I’m just saying that science and love are not mutually exclusive. Love might be a chemical reaction, but that doesn’t make it any less real."

Walter shakes his head. They have work to do, he doesn’t have time to argue about this kind of nonsense.

"What are the statistics for divorce?" Walter asks, knowing enough about them to think it’s an easy way to stop this conversation quickly.

"In the United States? Forty-one percent for first marriage," Toby tells him. "Sixty for second, and seventy-three for third. But as neither you nor Paige has ever been married, that means you’re more likely to succeed than fail."

"Sylvester would never take those odds," Walter points out. Really, he should have realized that this would be the moment where Toby decides to be the optimist.

"Sylvester would become a recluse if we let him. He’s a genius and a great guy, but definitely not someone you should base your life decisions on," Toby reminds him.

Walter sighs, this argument is really not going his way. It’s time to end it.

"Don’t you have actual work to do?" he asks. It’s not going to shut Toby up forever, but at least Walter will be able to evade this line of questioning for a little while.


	6. Snowman (Walter O'Brien/Paige Dineen)

"That looks fantastic," Paige says, trudging up the hill to their cabin with a tray full of hot chocolates in her hands.

Ralph beams at her.

"It really isn’t the ideal conditions for a snowman, the snow’s just not dense enough," Walter tries to explain until Paige shuts him up with a glare.

"But we found a way to compensate," Ralph elaborates.

"Of course you two did," Paige says as she steps forward to examine the snowman up close. It looks surprisingly normal for something made by two geniuses, a little lopsided and awkward. She loves it. "And he even has a pet… turtle?" she guesses.

"That was Ralph’s idea," Walter tells her, holding out a hand to take the tray from her.

Paige hands it to him and heads back towards the cabin, pausing to tug Ralph’s hat back down over his ears.

"Well let’s get inside before these chocolates get as cold as that snow turtle,  
she says.

"That would take a while," Ralph says, and she can tell he’s mentally doing the calculations to figure out exactly how long.

She gently nudges Ralph in the direction of the team’s cabin, and Walter pauses to take a quick photo of the snowman with his phone before joining them.

Paige pretends not to notice. Sometimes it’s better to pretend she doesn’t see him get sentimental. Sometimes he takes it as an insult.

Still, when they get back to LA, she asks him for a copy of the photo.


	7. Editing (Toby/Happy)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Director/Screenwriter AU

"You can’t just storm out in the middle of a meeting."

Of course he followed her out here. Of course he couldn’t give her two minutes to calm down. It’s like he wants her to go off on him again, in front of her staff and a bunch of interns.

"I need a minute," Happy responds through gritted teeth.

"So you can come back in and yell at me some more?" Toby sounds more entertained than angry, which should be a good thing. Instead it just annoys her.

She hasn’t yelled at all today. Snapped, maybe. But she hasn’t yelled.

"Do I don’t give into the urge to throw your script across the room," she explains. She wants to, really, but then she’d have to pick it all up.

And it’s already unnecessarily long (in fact, today’s argument has been all about the fact that no one is going to sit through a four hour zombie movie, even if it is Toby’s magnum opus). Reorganizing it would kill what little is left of her sanity.

"That would be counterproductive," he says with a smirk. "We’d probably be here all night getting it back in order, not that I’d really mind."

"Toby," she growls. This is their second project together about his eightieth attempt at flirting.

He holds his hands up in innocence and takes a step backward, “Alright, I’m backing off. But we really should get back in there so you can rip my writing to pieces.”

Against her own wishes, Happy lets out an amused snort. Then she follows him back into the meeting room, feeling decidedly less tense.


	8. Criminals (Toby/Happy)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (literal) partners in crime AU

"That kind of guy, he’s all ego. You just have to stroke it a little," Toby instructs over the comm planted in Happy’s ear.

"I’m not stroking anything of his," she whispers back. "He’s a creep."

"He’s a creep with hefty load of cash stashed in his hotel room. Cash that could be ours, if we play our cards right," Toby tells her.

"You mean if I play my cards right. I’m the one dealing with him, you’re just drinking by yourself in a corner,” she mutters.

"And I have had to turn down three lovely ladies who wanted to make my acquaintance," Toby says wistfully. "The things I do for you."

"The things you do for money," Happy watches as their mark makes a move for the hotel lobby.

Toby said to wait for him to come to her, but she’s a got a much better idea. draining the last of her whiskey, she gets up and follows him to the lobby elevator.

"Please tell me you’re not about to do what I think you’re about to do," Toby hisses in her ear. She ignores him, smiling her first real smile of the evening as the elevator doors close behind her.

He doesn’t see her punch coming, but it connects hard and knocks him to the floor, unconscious. From there, it only takes a few moments to fish his room key out of his jacket pocket. Luckily, they already know which room is his.

"I’m in," she announces, after she’s dragged the media magnate’s body into his own room.

"You have no finesse," Toby responds, but she can hear in his tone that he’s impressed.


	9. Date (Sylvester/Megan)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dance partners AU

"Blue tie or green tie?" Sylvester asks, holding both up against his shirt.

"Green," Paige doesn’t even look up from the magazine she’s reading. "It pops with the black shirt."

Somewhat clumsily, Sylvester ties the tie and tightens it around his throat.

Paige sets her magzine down and walks over to him to fiddle with the tie so it’s perfectly straight.

"You need to relax," she tells him calmly. "You’re going to have a great time."

"You can’t guarantee that," he points out. "I could step all over her toes, or spill my drink on her, or spend the entire evening rambling about statistics."

Paige looks him in the eye and holds up three fingers, “One, you spent eight weeks of dance classes not stepping all over her toes, so I’m sure you’ll be fine.” She drops her ring finger. “Two, if it happens, it happens. Don’t let it ruin your night.” She drops her middle finger. “And three, I’m pretty sure Megan finds your mathematical explanations really interesting, but make you don’t forget to talk about her too.”

"She finds them interesting?" Sylvester’s curiosity is piqued. "Did she say something to you."

Paige smiles mysteriously,” Only that you’re a surprisingly good dancer and that she’s really looking forward to tonight.”

She’s saved from any further questions by the sound of the doorbell ringing. Sylvester is momentarily embarrassed again by the fact that his date has to pick him up, but then Paige lightly shoves him towards the door and he doesn’t have time to worry about that.

"Here goes nothing," he mutters as he opens it.


	10. Mystery Man (Walter/Paige)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> just keep running into each other everywhere AU

"You ran into the hot mystery stranger again, didn’t you?" Megan guesses immediately upon opening the door to her apartment.

"Is it that obvious?" Paige asks.

"Totally," Megan says, already walking back to the living room. Paige trails after her, careful not to trip over the crutches leaning to the side of the door. "You’re actually blushing."

"Am not," Paige argues. She’s almost thirty, she doesn’t blush over hot mystery strangers she’s never even spoken to.

"Are too," Megan sing-songs, as if daring Paige to keep arguing. She doesn’t. "Anyway, I have bad news."

Paige’s first thought is that Megan’s MS has progressed, but she’s pretty sure if that was the case, she wouldn’t be so flippant about it.

"Yeah?"

"I know were supposed to do movie night, but my brother’s in town and he invited himself over," Megan explains, taking a seat on her couch.

"Oh," Paige is disappointed. She’d hired a sitter and everything.

"But you should totally stay for dinner. He’s a terrible cook, but he’s a takeout expert, and he always brings good wine when he visits," Megan pleads with her. "And he just got back from a consulting job in Singapore so I’m sure he’s got great stories."

"I don’t know," Paige says. Maybe she should use this night off to get some of Ralph’s birthday shopping done. It’s hard to surprise the kid when he comes to the store with her.

The door bell rings, which probably means that it’s too late.

"Can you get that?" Megan asks.

Paige rolls her eyes a little, but goes to the door anyway.

To say that it’s a bit of a shock to see her hot mystery man through the peephole is a bit of an understatement.

"Megan," she hisses. "I think I have a small problem."


	11. Cop Call (Walter/Paige)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> police officer/protestor AU

"Is this a friend call or a cop call?" is the first thing Megan asks when she hears Paige’s voice on the other end of the line.

There have been a few too many cop calls in recent months, and her friend’s lack of response make it clear that this is what it is.

"What’d he do now?" Megan asks.

"There was some anti-vaccination rally and—"

"I can guess what happened next," Megan sighs. "My brother has a low tolerance for anti-vaxxers."

"On the bright side, he finally asked for my number," Paige says with a laugh. "Too bad he did it in front of my boss, though."

"He has the worst timing," Paige can picture Megan cradling her head in her hands as she says this.

"He also promised to show Ralph that jet engine he’s working on, so I decided to take pity on him," Paige says. "We’re getting dinner on Saturday."

"Finally," Megan nearly cheers. "Now you can stop making googly eyes at each other."


	12. Blame Me (Toby/Happy)

“In retrospect, this may not have been my best idea,” Toby admits, taking in the giant of man in front of him.

The noise Happy makes in response is part growl, part exasperated sigh.

“I dunno, Doc, maybe you can talk your way out of this one,” the sarcasm drips from her voice.

"In my defense, I didn’t know there would be goons,” Toby holds his hands up in innocence.

Really, it’s a miracle that he can. The smart thing to do would have been to tie them both up to prevent escape. Apparently the men holding them hostage thought the goon would be enough to take care of them.

That was a mistake.

Happy gives Toby one last glare before aiming a swift kick to the goon’s genitals.

It’s a risky move; if he was wearing a cup they’d both be dead in seconds. But if she’d stayed put then they’d only have had a few extra minutes.

The goon bends over in pain, and Happy grabs Toby’s arm. Together they sprint out into the night, Happy already dialing Gallo with one hand.

When they finally find a place to hide and catch their breath, the first words out of Toby’s mouth are “That was hot.”


	13. Breaking The Rules (Toby/Happy)

“Listen, not that it doesn’t pain me to say this,” Toby tells her, clearly flustered, “but are you sure this is the right place and time for this?”

“Near death experience, adrenaline flowing,” Happy says, testing a few doorknobs before finding an unlocked room and pulling him in after her. “I could have Walter come over and explain it to you if you want.”

Carefully closing the door behind them, Happy pushes him up against it a little roughly.

He doesn’t mind.

“No, that’s okay. Definitely don’t want that,” Toby lifts an arm (or at least a forearm, his shoulder is currently pinned against the door) to wave the idea away. “It’s just that we’re in an elementary school.”

“And all the kids are outside, being reunited with their parents,” Happy reminds him with a smug grin. “I’d say that calls for a little celebrating.”

“But what about the rest of the team?” he asks, although he can’t for the life of him figure out why he’s still protesting. He’s thought about this a lot. Vividly. And no, there was never an elementary school classroom with a giant teddy bear mural involved, but beggars can’t be choosers. “They might wonder where we are.”

“Cabe is going to be busy with government operatives for another 45 minutes,” Happy estimates. “We can spend that waiting with everyone else, or—”

Finally out of any sound excuses, Toby cuts her off with a kiss.


	14. Shooting Star (Sylvester & Paige)

“Doesn’t Walter usually help you with this stuff?” Sylvester asks as he finishes adjusting the telescope.

It’s not quite a snort, but the loud puff of air Paige lets out of her nose makes her frustration with Walter pretty clear.

“I’m not speaking to Walter right now, and I’d just really appreciate it if you helped me locate these constellations so I don’t make a fool of myself in front of my kid,” Paige admits.

“That bad?” Sylvester raises an eyebrow.

Truthfully, he really doesn’t want to get in the middle of whatever argument Paige and Walter are in. They’re not uncommon, but they usually blow over quickly, so whatever Walter did must have been pretty bad.

(And whatever it is, Sylvester’s sure it must be Walter’s fault.)

“Let’s just say there’s a really good chance the LAPD missing person’s unit may never be calling us ever again, and we’re lucky it’s just them he managed to alienate,” Paige sighs before changing the topic. “Anyway, northern hemisphere spring constellations?”

“Right,” Sylvester leans over the telescope, taking a few seconds to locate one of the constellations. The he steps back and lets Paige take a peak. “Okay, so right in the middle we have Hydra, which is the longest constellation in the sky.”

“That’s the one with the nine heads, right?” Paige asks. “I think I found it.”

“That’s it,” he tells her. “You know, I think I have a book on the myths behind all the different constellations back at my place. I can lend it to you, if you want.”

Paige pulls back from the telescope. “Do you think Ralph would like that?” she asks.

“I think you’d like the myths, and Ralph would like the comparative analysis of common themes in world religion,” he tells her.

Paige smiles, “I’d appreciate that.”


	15. Boundaries (Sylvester & Toby)

“Why is there a cup of pee in the fridge?” Sylvester asks, holding the sealed plastic cup between his thumb and index finger.

“Homeland needed some from Toby for something,” Happy explains, not looking up from the project she’s working on.

“So he put it in the communal fridge?” the stress is evident in Sylvester’s voice.

“Looks like it,” Happy says absently.

“And where is Toby?” Sylvester asks.

“Downstairs with Ralph.”

Sylvester thunders down the stairs, nearly knocking Paige down as he turns a corner.

“Sorry,” he calls over his shoulder.

When he spots Toby and Ralph sitting in front of a laptop, he paces towards them.

“This does not belong in the fridge,” he says as he slams the cup down on the table. Fortunately, the lid is on securely.

Toby flinches, and looks at the cup.

“Sorry, Homeland isn’t sending someone for it until 3,” he explains, then turns his face back to the computer screen.

“And you couldn’t have waited?” Sylvester is clearly exasperated.

“When you’ve gotta go, you’ve gotta go. Besides, everyone knows urine in sterile,” Toby explains.

“As long as there’s nothing else in it,” Sylvester booms.

Toby looks up in shock, then looks down at Ralph before whispering, “What exactly is that supposed to mean.”

“It means keep this away from my food.”

And with that Sylvester turns on his heel and exists the room, leaving an amused Toby to hold onto his urine sample for a few hours.


	16. Close (Happy Quinn/Paige Dineen)

“That’s my peanut butter,” Happy says accusingly.

She knows she should let it go, that’s it’s just a cheap tub of generic peanut butter and Paige probably isn’t even double dipping her apple slices, but she can’t. Between her sexist pig Statics professor, and Toby’s out of line comments about being head over heels for her roommate, Happy’s on edge.

Still, she knows well enough that she should take a few steps not have this conversation with her lips inches away from the object of her affection.

Except she can’t quite convince herself to move out of Paige’s orbit.

This will end poorly.

“Sorry,” Paige apologizes. “I’m all out of food and I was so busy with that stupid World Civ paper that I couldn’t go out and buy more and I thought I’d have time to get to the store before you noticed. But I’m going tonight, I’ll pick you up a new jar.”

Paige fidgets a little, but doesn’t back out of Happy’s space. Happy wants it to mean something, but considering the fact that Paige is two weeks out of a pregnancy scare-induced breakup, that’s probably not a good idea.

She hates admitting that Toby’s right in any situation, but this one is particularly aggravating. But she can’t deny.

She totally wants to jump her roommate’s bones. And then take her out for brunch.

Jerking backwards, Happy grabs her backpack off her desk and stomps to the door.

“It had better be the smooth kind,” she calls over her should as she heads for the labs. Hopefully someone will have something she can smash with a hammer.


	17. Anger (Toby Curtis/Happy Quinn)

“Look at me– just breathe, okay?” Happy instructs him, looking pretty freaked out herself.

“I’m not having a panic attack,” he tells her in response. “I’m just really pissed off.”

That actually seems to calm her down. She’s no longer frantically looking for the rest of the team, for a quick exit, or a a heavy object to knock him unconscious with (he’s not sure exactly what she was trying to find before, but he’s pretty sure it was one of those three things).

Too bad the same can’t be said for him.

“It’s been years,” he tells her, because he knows talking should help. “Not a trace of him for years, and then suddenly he shows up in the middle of a job and wants to bond? If he wanted to bond, he’d have found me, not stumbled across me.”

Toby pauses, not sure what to say next but knowing that saying all this out loud has at least helped a tiny bit. He wants to scream and storm out of the casino, but he no longer wants to punch something. That’s a start.

“I can really only agree with that,” Happy tells him. It’s times like this that he appreciates how straight-forward she can be. She’s not just trying to placate him, she really does think he’s right. “We can leave if you want. Paige will understand.”

She’s right again. Paige will understand. But Walter won’t. And right now there’s a whole lot more riding on him that just Walter’s opinion.

“Yeah, but then I miss out on the opportunity to be the hero,” Toby forces a smirk onto his face and stands a little straighter. His trick of faking confidence to feel more confident works its usual magic. “And what better way to stick it to dear old Dad?”

“Well then,” Happy looks away from him and up at the ceiling air vent they should already be crawling though, “can you give me a boost?”


	18. Burn (Happy Quinn/Paige Dineen)

“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” Paige curses, raising her finger to her mouth in an attempt to stop the pain of the burn.

Happy looks up from her work table with a smirk.

“Watch your mouth, there’s a kid in the room,” she jokes.

Ralph looks up at mention of his name, decides there’s nothing really interesting go on, and turns his focus back to his project. After all, fourth grade science fairs don’t win themselves.

(Actually, he could probably sweep all three trophies if they let him, both Walter and Toby made a point of telling him that. But then his mother told him that he should focus on beating himself, which is what led to their current set up.)

“It hurts,” Paige explains, the words not coming out clearly around the index finger in her mouth.

Happy sets down her tools and tells Ralph “Hang on a second,” before crossing to the other side of the table.

She grabs Paige’s arm and gently guides her toward the sink. Happy turns on the water, runs her own hand under it to check the temperature and, when it’s satisfactorily cool, grabs Paige’s hand and sticks it under the stream.

“I thought I was supposed to be maternal one,” Paige jokes.

“I’m a mechanic, that means I’ve got a lot experience with burns,” Happy retorts over her shoulder as she returns to Ralph at the work table. She reaches under the table and pulls out two welding helmets, one of which is child sized. She hands that one to Ralph. “It also means that I’ve got a lot of experience with welding.”

Paige is more than content to just observe the next phase of Ralph’s science experiment from the safety of the other side of the room.


	19. Stay (Toby Curtis/Happy Quinn)

He wouldn’t say that she smiles as she falls backwards onto the couch cushion next to her, but she doesn’t look bothered by the prospect of staying the night.

“It’s not like I’ve got anything better to do tonight,” Happy shrugs.

“Besides tell me off?” he responds. 

It’s only half a joke; he knows she’s going to have a few choice words for him. He’s just hoping he can fend her off for a while with a few well placed jokes.

“Oh don’t worry, I’ll get to that,” she promises him. “But since you’re the one with the concussion, instead of me, I figure that can wait until after takeout and a movie.”

“What, like a date?” Toby asks, leaning back into the couch cushions in an effort to appear more nonchalant.

If he was a betting man (something which he’s trying hard not to be), he’d say it doesn’t work well.

“Don’t get ahead of yourself,” Happy rolls her eyes. She raises her hands behind her head and kicks her legs out onto Toby’s coffee table. Now that’s the kind of casual he was trying for. “It’s a thank you for saving me a trip to the hospital, or at least a trip to the hospital where I was the one the doctors were poking. I’ll even let you pick the movie.”

“But not the takeout,” he confirms.

“I’m not really in the mood for sausage on my pizza tonight.” Happy guesses exactly what he would have ordered. “How about Thai?”

“I can do Thai,” Toby agrees. He could do those awful ramen noodles with the flavored powder that he hasn’t eaten since college if it means an almost date with Happy. “How about The Fast and the Furious?”

Happy turns her head to look him in the eye, “There’s no need to kiss my ass, Doc. I’ll watch one of those pretentious human condition arthouse films you like, as long as it’s not in French.”

Toby knows his Netflix queue is filled with just the type of movies Happy just mentioned. He also knows that she’ll be out like a light fifteen minutes into one of them, thirty if she’s as committed to indulging him as she sounds.

“I need loud noises to keep me awake,” he makes a flimsy excuse, “not quiet orchestral music and murmured conversations. I’m not doing that ‘you’re fine to sleep as long as someone wakes you up every two hours’ nonsense. No one gets any rest like that.”

“Fine,” Happy leans forward on her thighs and then rises from the couch. “I’ll call for food, you start the movie.”


	20. Precious Treasure (Toby Curtis/Happy Quinn)

“It’s the responsible thing to do,” Toby argues.

The skeptical look Happy gives him, complete with slowly blinking eyes, is enough to keep him from elaborating on this line of thought.

“Seriously?” She folds her arms across her chest.

“What?”

“I’d really love to hear you explain how ice cream, video games, and keeping Ralph up two hours past his bedtime is the responsible thing to do,” Happy clarifies.

Even for Toby, that argument is a bit of a stretch.

“The way I see it,” Toby peeks at Ralph out of the corner of his eye, to make sure the kid isn’t paying attention to their conversation. He seems to be staring attentively at the TV screen, all his focus on the videogame he and Walter created, but it’s hard to be sure with Ralph sometimes, “we’re the cool aunt and uncle.”

Happy snorts, “You know we’re not really—“

“Cool aunt and uncle,” Toby repeats himself. “And we’ve been given the task of looking after this precious treasure tonight. It’s our duty to let him do things that his mother would frown upon.”

“And whose duty will it be to wake him up for school tomorrow morning?” Happy asks.

Toby raises his eyebrows in disbelief, “It’s just fourth grade, he can do it in his sleep. Hell, he might actually be better off doing it in his sleep.”

Happy’s pretty sure there are about a dozen flaws in that logic, but it’s not worth going back and forth with Toby over it.

Especially not when she looks over her shoulder to find that Ralph’s abandoned his spot on the couch, the TV displaying the videogame’s home screen.

She thinks she can hear the sink running in the bathroom, and a few minutes later Ralph reappears in his pajamas.

“Can one of you get the lights?” he asks.

Happy nods and follows Ralph towards his bedroom. Toby trails behind them, clearly disappointed that he won’t get to live up to his responsibilities as cool uncle tonight.


	21. Soup (Toby Curtis/Happy Quinn)

“I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere,” Toby promises.

It’s a bit overdramatic, but it distracts her to strain her ears and try to make out exactly what he’s doing in her kitchen (searching her cabinets for chicken noodle soup, if she’s hearing correctly).

If she focuses hard enough on the mental picture of Toby, in her kitchen, trying to make her soup, she can almost forget how awful she feels. Imagining him in one of those Kiss the Cook aprons she’s seen at Sly’s place makes it even better, but that might be the cold medicine making her loopy.

Happy must doze off for a bit, because the next thing she knows Toby’s setting a tray down on her nightstand with a large bowl of soup lying on top. She forces herself up into a seating position and lets him lay the tray (since when does she own a wicker serving tray?) on her lap.

“Sorry it took so long; your stove is weird. I’m just gonna throw the pot I used into your dishwasher, I expect you to have made a sizeable dent in that be the time I come back,” Toby points at her food for emphasis.

“You know you could have just put it in the microwave,” she tells him, her voice sounding even more gravelly than usual. She cringes at the sound of it, just another clear sign that she’s not operating at anything approaching full capacity.

Happy hates being sick. Maybe when she’s feeling good enough to get up and leave her apartment, she’ll go to the store and get vitamins, or at least those vitamin C tablets you drop in your water to fend off colds.

Probably not.

“But then the chicken stays pink and gross,” Toby calls over his shoulder as he exits the room. “Now eat.”

Groaning at the fact that she’s been given an order (and the fact that she feels like she’s been hit by a mack truck), Happy lifts the spoon of the tray. It isn’t until she’s sticking it into the soup that she notices the goldfish crackers swimming in it.

It’s cute, if a little childish. Then again, she probably didn’t have any regular crackers lying around. She thinks Toby might have even stole them from Ralph before he came over.

Whatever, cheddar and chicken broth make a surprisingly good flavor combination, at least to her dulled tastebuds.


	22. A Matter of Pride (Toby Curtis/Happy Quinn)

“You can trust me,” Toby says, “I’m not going to break anything.”

He might not have her or Walter’s familiarity with engineering, but he’s assisted Happy with her projects plenty of times. He’s not sure why she’s cutting him out of this one.

“It’s not a trust issue,” Happy explains, not looking up as she grabs a pair of pliers off the table. “It’s a pride issue.”

“You know Walter was baiting you with that, right?” Toby asks. He thought it was pretty transparent. This should be child’s play to her.

“Thank you Captain Obvious,” Happy replies. A simple ‘yes’ would have answered his question too, but he knows better than to expect Happy to give a simple answer when she can give a bitingly sarcastic one. “But it’s still a challenge, and I can’t back down.”

Toby tells her, “It’s a tenth birthday party, not one of those fabrication contests.”

Happy finally looks up from her work to say, “It’s Ralph’s birthday. And if I can impress a bunch of ten year olds with a flying cake, then I’m going to.”

He nods. That’s fair enough, although if the sheer amount of equipment Happy currently has spread out on her workbench is any indicator, this is going to be way more than a flying cake.

“Are those fireworks?” Toby spots the bring packaging hidden under a welding helmet. “Illegal fireworks?”

“They’re sparklers and Paige already told me it’s an outdoor party,” Happy brushes him off.

“And the giant cake-stand?” It’s too tall to even fit on the workbench, so it’ll definitely be too high for any of the kids to actually see.

“It retracts,” Happy explains, then grins, “and it spins.”

Toby sighs, “Don’t you think this is a bit much?”

“Not really,” Happy shrugs. “We’re between jobs and it gives me the chance to test out some birdroni upgrades.”

There’s a part of Toby that thinks drones and small children probably shouldn’t mix, but it’s overridden by the part of him that knows this is going to be a party to remember.

“I’ll get out of your hair, then,” he excuses himself.

“See you in fifteen minutes,” Happy rolls her eyes.


	23. Here (Walter O'Brien/Paige Dineen)

If he’d called Sylvester to make this request, the response would have worry, and that just would have set him more on edge than he already was. If he’d called Toby or Happy, they’d have given him a mouthful, passive aggressive or just plain aggressive, respectively.

Again, that would be the opposite of helpful.

He considers calling Cabe, who could clear a path through the incessant, useless questions he’s being asked, with a wave of a badge and a few well-placed glares.

But in the end it’s Paige’s number that he dials.

“I just think this would all go a lot more quickly if you were here to smooth things over,” he tells her, without going into detail about the number of hospital staff he’s managed to piss off in the last forty-five minutes.

Paige doesn’t ask him to elaborate, doesn’t comment on how she’s not surprised he’s dug himself into a hole. She doesn’t even mention the fact that she’s supposed to have today off.

She just tells him she’ll be there as soon as she can.


	24. Houseguest (Toby Curtis/Happy Quinn)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for Toby Curtis Appreciation Week on tumblr. Day 3, Favorite Relationship

Happy’s eyes skip over the usual clutter that fills Toby’s apartment before landing on the one thing that’s out of the ordinary.

“That’s a cat,” she states flatly.

“Yes. Yes, it is,” Toby nods.

The small ginger kitten lying on his couch either doesn’t hear them, or doesn’t care enough to acknowledge them.

“When did you adopt a cat?” Happy asks in disbelief. “Why did you adopt a cat?”

“I didn’t.”

Toby steps into the kitchen, taking off his hat and dropping it on the counter. First, he pulls two beers out of the fridge and sets them on the table. Then he pulls a can of tuna out of a cabinet.

“I hate to break it to you,” Happy helps herself to the can opener in the drawer next to the sink, popping open the caps on the beers, “but it sure looks like you adopted a cat.”

Toby shrugs, “He got into the building. I found him, I fed him, now he won’t leave.”

“Him?” Happy lifts and eyebrow, before taking a swig from her bottle.

“I’m an MD, I’m pretty sure that qualifies me to tell the difference between and boy cat and a girl cat.”

“And how long has he been here?” Happy asks. Clearly long enough to make himself at home, although that might just be what cats do.

The crosses the room and jumps onto the kitchen table, as if he knows he’s being talked about. Either that or he smells the food Toby’s just started to open.

“Four days,” Toby doesn’t meet Happy’s gaze as he dumps the tuna into a shallow bowl. “It’s hard to find a no-kill shelter that will take him.”

The moment Toby pulls his hand away from the bowl, the cat pounces on it. He makes short work of it while they watch, then leaps the counter and curls up on Toby’s discarded hat.

“Ziggy, no,” Toby reprimands, but the cat just looks at him impassively.

“Ziggy?” Happy snorts, fixing Toby with a look not dissimilar to the cat’s.

“Ziggy Stardust,” Toby clarifies. “He’s got a little lightning bolt mark on his face.”

Happy leans down to be level with Ziggy and squints. She can almost makeout a zig-zag of slightly lighter fur. Maybe.

“As long as it’s not Sigmund Freud,” she tells him before grabbing her beer and settling in on his couch.


	25. Sick (Happy Quinn/Paige Dineen)

“You’re warm,” Happy pulls her hand away from Paige’s forehead before asking, “Where’s the thermometer?”

“I can’t be sick,” Paige tells her, worried. “Ralph has school Awards Night tomorrow and I have a final on Tuesday to study for.”

“Toby and Sly will go to Awards Night; Toby’s been trying for an invite all week. Now where’s the thermometer?” Happy’s tone brokers no arguing.

“Corner cabinet, behind the vitamins,” Paige leans back against the couch cushions. She’s pretty sure this is what getting hit by a bus must feel like. Still, Happy’s only solved half of her problems. “I need to study.”

“Then you’ll study,” Happy promises, thermometer now in hand. “As long as you get plenty of rest, food, and liquids. But first, I need to take your temperature.”

Paige is forced to be quiet for two minutes, holding the plastic thermometer under her tongue until it beeps.

“One hundred point one,” Happy informs her.

“So now what? You make me chicken noodle soup?” Paige gripes, her tone venting her frustrations.

“Sorry, you’ll have to settle for takeout. Miso or egg drop?” Happy’s already scrolling through her phone to place the order.

Paige rolls her eyes, “Egg drop. And ginger ale.” Maybe it’s just that she knows she’s sick, but her stomach is starting to feel a little upset.

“I’ll order a liter,” Happy reassures her.


	26. "Come here. Let me fix it." (Happy Quinn/Paige Dineen

“I get that it has sentimental value, but that necklace is turning your skin green,” Happy leans over Paige to rub at the smudge on her neck.

“If you keep that up,” Paige grins at the feeling of Happy’s fingers against her skin, “we’re going to be late for our reservation.” She pulls away to check her reflection in the mirror. Sure enough, there’s a green stain just above her clavicle. She sighs. “I guess I still wear it with high neck shirts.”

It’s a shame, though. Not only was the necklace a gift from Ralph for Mother’s Day (paid for with allowance saving and what she assumes was help from Toby and Sly), she also really likes it. A thin silver chain with a rose shaped charm, it matches pretty much everything she owns.

“I could make you a new one,” Happy offers. “Or try and fix it.” She’s sitting on Paige’s bed, zipping up her boots, having quickly changed into her dress for dinner while Paige was looking at her reflection.

She doesn’t have a ton of experience with jewelry, but she did take one class a couple of years back, just for fun. The teacher had been impressed with the way she handled metal. She could probably make a chain, and she knew a guy who could replicate the flower charm in better metal.

Paige looks over her should to reply, “A new one wouldn’t be the same. And I’m not letting you anywhere near this with hot tools after that incident with Cabe’s watch.”

“Hey,” Happy protests, “that was not my fault. Walt knows better than to distract me in the middle of a delicate project, but he decided to anyway. And Cabe agreed that lives at risk trump expensive watches.”

“Sure,” Paige draws the word out with a smirk, watching in the mirror as Happy shoots her a dirty look.

“Come here,” Happy gets to her feet and walks towards Paige. “Let me fix it. No heat, I promise.”

Paige rolls her eyes, but doesn’t protest as Happy unhooks her necklace.

“I need that back in one piece,” Paige teases.

Happy doesn’t respond to that comment, instead asking, “Do you still keep your nail polish in the fridge.”

“It lasts longer,” Paige says as a way of confirming, but Happy’s already left the bedroom.

She returns less than a minute later, holding a bottle of clear nail polish.

“You get dressed,” she gestures from Paige to the red dress lying across the bed. “I will prove to you that I have plenty of skills outside of work.”

When the doorbell rings just as Paige is in the bathroom putting the finishing touches on her hair, she hears Ralph call, “I’ll get it.”

Seconds later, she can hear both Ralph and Happy talking to Megan and Sylvester.

Paige slides her feet into her heels quickly and goes to join the group congregating by the apartment’s front door.

“Thanks for doing this again,” she greets Sly and Megan.

“No problem, I love getting the opportunity to corrupt the next generation,” Megan replies.

Everyone laughs and Happy points her watch, “We’ve gotta get going.”

She holds out Paige’s necklace, now covered with an invisibly coat of nail polish.

“It’ll wear off eventually,” she explains, “but you’ll be good for a while.”

Paige holds still as Happy clasps the necklace around her neck, and then practically yanks her out of the apartment.

Paige grabs Happy’s hand to slow her down so they can say goodnight to Ralph, reminding her that they’re taking Paige’s car so she’s stuck at her pace.


	27. "It brings out your eyes." (Sylvester/Megan)

Two weeks out of town on some work for Homeland Security, and Sylvester’s surprised by all the changes Megan’s made to her new room.

“I think what you’ve done with the place,” he tells her.

Admittedly, it still has the same dreary white walls as everyone other room in the care facility, but new curtains, a colorful rug, and what looks like giant geometric stickers on the walls certainly makes the place feel more like home.

“Thanks,” she says. I went a little stir crazy with you and Walter out of town. This is lot nicer than the old place, everyone I’ve met seems to actually have a personality other dying, but a girl can only take so many rounds of Pictionary.

“Pictionary?” Sly smiles. He can’t picture Megan playing one round of Pictionary. She’d probably only draw rude things.

“Pictionary, Monopoly, Parcheesi, chess,” she rolls her eyes. “You name it, the common area has it.”

“I’m so glad we’re not there,” he replies.

Megan beams at him.

“Yeah, well hiding out in my room has been fun and all, but I think you’d better break me out before I give into my online shopping addiction.”

That would explain the new décor and all the boxes sitting outside her door.

“I’m ready when you are,” he tells her. “I even talked Paige into playing chauffeur, so we can skip the bus.”

Sly had planned on a movie and a walk around the mall, followed by dinner at one of the nicer places attached to the outside of the mall. Although considering the way Megan’s clothes seemed to be bursting from her closet, maybe the mall wasn’t the best idea.

“One second,” she tells him, walking towards the closet. “I got you something.”

Balancing on one crutch, she tugs at the various t-shirts and sweaters filling her closet. He almost thinks she might lose the battle when she pulls out a blue cardigan.

“For you,” she tells him. “It’ll bring out your eyes.”

“My eyes are brown,” he reminds her.

“So are mine,” Megan replies. “And they look great with navy eyeliner.”

The sweater she hands him is soft enough that Sly doesn’t care if it makes his eyes look strung out and red. He sheds his gray vest to try it on.

“Okay, I’m on board with the blue,” he says after quick peek in the mirror. 

Throwing the sweater vest over his shoulder, he props the door open so Megan head out to Paige’s waiting car.


	28. Library AU (Happy Quinn/Paige Dineen)

Paige is updating a bibliography on divorce when she notices someone approaching the desk out of the corner of her.

“Can I help you?” she asks, the words falling out of her mouth automatically, before she even gets a good look at the person.

“Yeah,” says an Asian women maybe a little older than she is. “Do you have any books on cars and other vehicles?”

“Fiction or non-fiction?” Paige asks.

“Non-fiction,” the woman replies.

“And for someone how old?” Paige asks again.

The woman seems a little thrown by the question.

“Uh… eight to ten year olds… maybe?” she asks.

Paige smiles, runs a quick search in her OPAC, and gestures for the woman to follow her into the stacks.

“Okay, here are our books on different kinds of automobiles,” Paige gestures along a low shelf. “They’re all different reading levels, so poke you can poke around a little until you find what you need. Is this what you were looking for?”

“Um… probably,” the woman says. “I have no idea.”

Paige lets out an amused laugh, and then tries to cover it in case the other woman thinks she’s laughing at her.

“Why don’t you tell me more about what you’re looking for, and we’ll figure it out.”

“Okay,” the other woman replies. “So I’m a mechanical engineer at a small consulting firm. We work with a whole bunch of industries. And my boss has decided that we should expand our horizons,” those last few words come out heavy on the sarcasm, “with youth outreach. Some I’m teaching a bunch of elementary school kids about the mechanics of different vehicles. Cars, motorcycles, different kinds of trucks.”

“Okay, I can work with that,” Paige assures her, already scanning the shelves.

The other woman smiles in relief.

It doesn’t take long for the Paige and Happy, as it turns out the other woman’s name is, to narrow down their choices to a few books that suit her needs.

Paige even grabs one to take home herself.

“My son,” she explains. “He’s gifted and way beyond this, but it’s just at my level.”

Happy nods, then says, “You know, I’m giving a public presentation Saturday afternoon, a practice run. If that,” she taps the book in Paige’s hand, “is where you’re at, it might be helpful.”

Paige smiles, “I’ll be there.”


	29. Matching Costumes (Toby/Happy)

The first sign that something’s wrong is Paige greeting her the moment she walks in.

Under most circumstances, Paige should be at her desk, soothing ruffled feathers from some organization, or looking through any of the many job requests they’ve been getting.

Happy’s first thought is that someone’s gotten themselves hurt again. Probably Walter or Toby, although she wouldn’t be shocked if it was Cabe either. Definitely not Sylvester. And if it was Ralph, Paige would be wherever he is, not at work.

Hopefully she has enough time to wipe the cat makeup off of her face. She can dismantle the tail in the car.

So Happy steels herself for a Halloween of glaring and worrying, rather than enjoying an evening off with her friends and Ralph.

“I promise I had no idea he was going to do it,” Paige says.

A warning.

So, not a medical emergency. But not a sign of a relaxing, fun night either.

And it’s not hard to guess who’s responsible.

“Doc,” Happy storms into the building, already annoyed despite not knowing what to blame him for.

He emerges from upstairs, looking like he knows he’s in trouble.

He’s got large floppy ears hanging off the sides of his head, and a snout painted over his nose.

He’s a dog. To her cat.

She’s going to murder him.


End file.
